Monday, June 27, 2011

I can hardly believe it, but it's been 2 years to the day since I made my first food blog post. 174 posts later, my passion for cooking, blogging, and photography continues to grow with no bounds in sight. Equally important is that I've been able to connect with hundreds of incredible people (you!), without whose support this fledgling blog would have faded into oblivion long ago. In fact, you guys gave me an amazing 26th birthday gift last week of seeing my subscriber count surpass 1,500! Almost a week later I'm still pinching myself to confirm if it's real. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to all my readers old and new!

I've never been one to make much ado over my birthday, but I do like to gather friends around for a fun and relaxing evening. Plus, any opportunity to bake a celebration cake is not to be missed...especially on the one day of the year when I have full control over the menu (mwahaha! ^_^). And what a menu it turned out to be! P and I prepared the main dishes and desserts, while friends contributed the rest. Not having set a theme for the meal, we got quite an eclectic mix of dishes but all so yummy that I wouldn't have done it any other way.

As a kid I hated having a summer birthday because all my school friends would be on family vacations by the time I threw my party. Now that I'm all grown up, I've done quite the 180°, delighting in all the fresh fruits and veggies available this time of year. Nothing speaks summer! louder to me than fresh fruit and cream. As proof you can find my previous iterations of this divine combination here, here, and here.

To mix it up this year, I expanded on the "cream" portion with not only heavy cream but a trifecta of cream, sweetened condensed milk, and caramelized cinnamon evaporated milk in this irresistable Tres Leches Cake. The filling of sugared raspberries is a fresh twist on the Spanish classic, adding just the right amount of tartness to counter the sweet n' creamy sauce.

Knowing certain guests didn't fancy raspberries, I made a second dessert of Mango Mascarpone-Filled Macarons. This was my first time filling macarons with mascarpone and I must say I love it! Not only did it taste fantastic but it was fantastically easy to prepare: just whisk with fork...no mixer required! When you then add in a topping of juicy, ripe diced mangoes, how could it not be good? And as far as I'm concerned, it was ALL good: the food, the company, the beginning of my 27th year of life... Thank you, my lovely readers, for adding to the wonder of it all!

XIAOLU'S NOTES: Evaporated goat milk (Meyenberg is a popular brand) is sold in many grocery stores. I couldn't find it in mine, however, so I substituted regular evaporated milk and the cake was still fabulous. Look in the baking aisle, near the condensed milk. The cake and tres leches sauce (prepare while cake bakes) can both be made a day ahead; reheat tres leches sauce before drizzling over cake. You can chill the completed cake for up to 3 days (garnish with raspberries just before serving).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; position rack in center of oven. Cut a large parchment circle about 13 inches in diameter and place it atop the base of a 9-inch springform cake pan (at least 2 inches deep). Place the pan's rim back on top of the base and lock it in, securing the edges of the parchment paper. Now butter and flour the bottom and sides of the pan, and set aside.

For cake: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together; set aside. Select a large stainless steel bowl (at least 10-cup capacity) that can nest comfortably in a large pot. Fill pot halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. In bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Set bowl over water; with a handheld mixer, beat eggs and sugar at high speed until pale and thick enough to fall from a spoon in a wide ribbon, about 10 minutes. [If you have a stand mixer but no handheld, combine eggs and sugar in your metal mixer bowl. Set bowl over water, and whisk continuously by hand until the mixture is very warm and foamy. Then remove the bowl from heat and attach it to your stand mixer. Mix until pale and thick enough to fall from a spoon in a wide ribbon, about 10 minutes.]

Remove bowl from heat. Add sifted flour mixture to egg mixture and immediately fold in gently but quickly. Add melted butter and fold in gently until no streaks remain. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake on center rack until cake is evenly browned, just begins to pull from pan sides, and springs back when lightly touched in the center, about 35 to 40 minutes. Set pan on a cooling rack and let cool 5 minutes. Run a thin knife between pan and rim. Remove rim and let cake cool completely.

For tres leches sauce: In a large pot (at least 6-qt. capacity) over high heat, combine goat milk, sugar, and cinnamon stick. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir in baking soda mixture (sauce will foam up) and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce turns a caramel color and reduces to 3/4 cup, 10 to 12 minutes.

With a long, serrated knife, cut cake in half horizontally. Lift off cake top and set, cut side down, on a flat plate.

Transfer cake bottom off the pan base onto a cake stand or other serving platter. Poke cake bottom all over with a toothpick, being careful not to poke all the way through. Slowly spoon enough warm tres leches sauce (slightly less than 1 cup) over cake bottom to saturate well but not cause it to ooze. Let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.

For filling: Reserve 1/2 cup of raspberries to go on top of the cake, then put remaining fruit in a bowl and mix gently with granulated sugar. Set aside. In a chilled bowl, use a mixer to whip cream until it holds medium stiff peaks and is thick enough to spread. Add vanilla and powdered sugar; mix well.

Scoop about 1 2/3 cups whipped cream onto cake bottom and spread evenly, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Dot with sugared raspberries, pushing them down into cream. Carefully transfer the cake top, cut side down, onto the base and make sure they are aligned. Poke top all over with a toothpick as before, then slowly spoon slightly less than 1 cup of sauce evenly over cake top to saturate.

Now smoothly frost top and sides of cake with remaining whipped cream, then use a clean towel to wipe any stray frosting or sauce from around the base. Cover cake without touching (invert a large bowl over it) and chill at least 2 hours. Cover and chill reserved raspberries if held longer than 2 hours. Cover and chill remaining tres leches sauce.

XIAOLU'S NOTES: Please do not try to convert this recipe to volume measurements if you don't have a scale (I use and love this one). This recipe is very sensitive and will not work if the measurements are not exact. Please also note that every oven is different and you'll figure out what works best for yours over time (see this post for great information on ovens and macarons). Since mine has major hot spots, I bake on 2 stacked pans for insulation if using parchment paper. If you're uncertain of your ability to pipe uniformly-sized macarons, like me, simply trace 1 1/4-inch circles on your parchment paper, flip the paper over, and pipe on the other side, using the outlines as your guide OR print (choose "fit to page") and slide this template under your parchment as a guide but don't forget to remove before baking! See my first macaron post for helpful videos of the whole macaron-making process!

Microwave fresh egg whites 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave on medium-low heat (I set my microwave to 40%).

Combine the almonds, powdered sugar, mango powder, and salt in a food processor, and pulse on and off until the nuts are finely ground (about 1 to 2 minutes). Sift the powder to remove any large chunks that remain. Put those chunks back into the food processor and pulse again for another 30 to 60 seconds. Sift again. You will probably have some slightly chunkier almond bits. Hopefully they're no more than a tablespoon or so, in which case you can throw them out.

Weigh out and mix your granulated sugar and egg white powder in a small bowl until uniform; set aside. Add splash of vinegar then a splash of water to the bowl that will be used for whipping the egg whites. Swirl liquid around the bowl, then use a clean paper towel to wipe the bowl dry. Use the same paper towel to wipe down your beaters. Now using a handheld or stand mixer, whip the egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy, then turn the speed up to medium to medium-high and gradually add the sugar mixture. Now add orange food coloring, if using, until the desired shade is reached (color will lighten once fully whipped). Continue whipping until you obtain a glossy meringue (it'll look like shaving cream, hold stiff peaks, and stay in place if you turn the bowl upside-down; but don't overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry).

Add all of the nut mixture to the meringue and fold together. Use both a folding motion that scrapes the bottom of the bowl (to incorporate the dry ingredients) and a gentle pressing motion, to deflate the meringue against the side of the bowl. Slow down after all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, and continue folding the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that looks somewhat glossy and flows from the spatula in a thick ribbon. Test the batter by spooning a small amount of the batter on a plate: if the top flattens on its own within about 20 seconds, it’s ready to pipe. If there is a small peak, give the batter 2 to 3 more folds and test again. The peak shouldn’t disappear immediately either or it’s already overmixed.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/3 to 1/2-inch wide plain tip (I like Ateco #805 or 806) with half of the batter. (When your bag is too full, the pressure causes the batter to rush out in a way that’s difficult to control, making for sloppy macarons.) Pipe tiny blobs of batter onto the 4 corners and center of 2 baking sheets, then line baking sheets with parchment paper OR line with silicone mats. Pipe small rounds (slightly larger than 1 inch wide) straight down and about 1 inch apart onto the baking sheets. Pick up each sheet with both hands and slam it firmly straight downward on the counter 2 to 3 times. This will to force out any large air bubbles. Immediately pop any bubbles that rise up but don't break with a toothpick. Do NOT do this once a few minutes have passed because you'll mess up the shell that's forming.

Preheat the oven to 285 to 300 degrees F. Let the macarons sit out for 25 to 90 minutes to harden their shells a bit (to prevent tops from cracking during baking). Test if they're ready by touching the top and side of one shell lightly. It should feel dry and not stick to your finger at all. Bake one pan at a time for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the macarons. After the first 10 minutes of baking, rotate the pan and place a large piece of foil loosely over the macarons to prevent browning (If I’m baking on 2 stacked pans, I also remove the bottom pan at this point to make sure the macarons will be completely cooked on the bottom and not sticky). Let cool completely before trying to move the shells.

Once cool, remove the shells from the silicone mat or parchment and flip them over. If you have trouble removing them, freeze the macarons for about 10 minutes, then quickly peel them off before they have a chance to warm up and get sticky again.

To prepare the filling, combine the mascarpone, powdered sugar, and heavy cream and mix well. To fill, spoon or pipe about 1 teaspoon of mascarpone mixture onto half the macaron shells, sprinkle with diced mangos, then top with a similarly-sized top shell. For the best flavor and texture, store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before eating so flavors are allowed to mature, but they are best if eaten within 2 days. Bring to cool room temperature before eating.

Happy Blog Birthday!!! Wow, what a journey it's been, but a wonderful one, to watch you and your blog grow over that time. You have gone from strength to stregth and your passion certainly shines through.

Happy birthday AND happy bloggiversary! How fun that the two come together! I adore your birthday menu and would have devoured every ounce of it! The cake and macarons look so amazing! Nothing like a good tres leches with some fruit to cut the sweetness!

Oo, CONGRATULATIONS! You've accomplished so much in 2 years - and your blog is absolutely wonderful, and definitely one of my favorite web-spaces.And the macarons looks and sound incredible. Love the vivid color.

So gorgeous!! You are so young and beautiful!! Happy birthday...sorry i missed the actual day. I wish I could have tasted your dinner! How did the amchur/amchoor turn out for you? Was it enough to detect? Cheers to many more blogging years!...or until the next technology takes over! Love ya!

Happy birthday and happy 2nd bloggyversary! Gosh, 2 years ... I wonder if I'll even last that long. My 1 year's coming up. I love your blog, great recipes and great pics, young, beautiful and talented. You've got it made!

Many congratulations on the blogversary!!! Sounds like you had a brilliant celebration. The Tres Leches Cake looks absolutely brilliant! I love macaroons and am sure they made the celebration very special...

I know a lot of folks who don’t eat eggs (they’re allergic, for health reasons, or concerns about animal cruelty). Here’s an awesome site that gives tips on cooking and baking without eggs: http://EggFreeLiving.com

Bravo on your 2nd blog birthday. That's quite a smilestone! What a lovely way to celebrate: gorgeous raspberry cake and these macarons are delicious. I also love using mascarpone for giant macarons for dessert, as it's so quick and easy to prepare. Fab. Lovely mango colour, too!

Xiaolu, congratulations on our 2 year anniversary and happy birthday! What a great way to celebrate! I have probably known you for the last 10 posts or so, but I'm so grateful that I found you! You make delicious desseret like these beautiful macarons and I enjoy your blog very much. Cheers to your success!

Congratulation on turning 2 :) :) I meant your Blog! Hope you have many many more such celebration ahead in life. That was some party treat you had :) The cake looks fabulous .. and i too love cream and fresh fruit .. for me no chocolate can beat that !

Happy Second Birthday Xiaolu!!! How exciting must be to celebrate two years of blogging. You are doing an amazing job with your recipes and photos, I love them!Tres Leches is my favorite cake and Macarons...Never had them before. That is really sad :(. It's time to change that! Your recipe looks delicious and I should try it.

Happy Second Birthday to 6-Bittersweets! It is a lovely accomplishment and your recipes are a wonderful contribution to the food world. Not to mention your photography....which I feel like I learn from all the time. Love the macs and Tres Leche cake too. Worthy sweets to celebrate with!

Sending you lots of happiness Xiaolu and may I say these recipes looks super, super delicious, that cake, oh my!! So happy to be one of your many devoted followers and can't wait to see what treats will be appearing next :)

Happy 2nd birthday...these are brilliant Xiaulo, and I absolutely love the party spread. Read that you put amchur in the shells. Just flavour or any scientific stabiliser thingy? Read about the splash of vinegar too...MUST TRY that!

Apologies for chiming in late but congratulations in reaching such a great milestone! Thanks so much for sharing your delicious goodness with us and I look forward to many, many more of your amazing blog posts.

Happy birthday to you and your bloggy baby too! Belated though... :) I'm bowled over by your beautiful space, especially your gorgeous macaron recipes. I've had my highs and lows with this beauty and still can't nail it. sigh. Glad I came across your blog Xiaolu, your pictures are gorgeous and so are the recipes!

Happy birthday to you Xiaolu! And many congratulations on your amazing two years of blogging. A bit delayed wishes, but just wanted to tell you how much I've enjoyed your recipes & creations. Keep those delicious posts coming!

Happy second birthday to 6 bittersweets! Happy birthday to you too! :) I love your blog and all the amazing food you make... this post is fabulous! I love the cake and the macarons! Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing and I look forward to many more years of 6 bittersweets!

I cannot believe I almost missed this blog's birthday! You are one of my all time favorite bloggers, Xiaolu, not only because you make and photograph beautiful and delicious food, but also because you are sweeter than the desserts I see here. :)Here's to many more birthdays and to many more years of deliciousness! xoxo